Lamp shade holders



Dec. 20, 1955 G. H. WEINER 2,727,985

LAMP SHADE HOLDERS Filed May 14, 1953 x I INVENTOR. 26 l M GEORGE E. WEINER W W q5- United States Patent LAMP SHADE HOLDERS George H. Weiner, Chicago, Ill. Application May 14, 1953, Serial No. 354,910

Claims. (Cl. 240-448) The invention relates to lamp shade holders and is more particularly concerned with the novel construction and assembly of a swivel holding member for a lamp shade.

Known types of swivel holding members for lamp shades have certain objectionable characteristics, either from the viewpoint of manufacture and assembly or satisfactory use. Many such devices when associated with the usual lamp harp, require an excessive number of parts which materially increases their cost through excess material required and labor to assemble. These and other known types of holding members also become ineffective to hold the lamp shade in an angularly adjusted or tilted position relative to the harp. The present invention embodies a structure which utilizes but a minimum number of parts which may be assembled easily and quickly, and is so constructed as to insure tight binding between the holding member and the harp, regardless of the amount of use.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a lamp shade holder of a kind having all of the advantageous features noted hereinafter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lamp shade holding member which consists of but few parts and which is self-adjusting on the harp to insure firm mounting of the lamp shade at all times in any position of angular adjustment.

Another object is to provide a simple, efficient and correct means for mounting a lamp shade on a harp.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages, should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a lamp embodying the features of the present invention and showing, in section, a shade mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a vertical central sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 1, and showing the holding member and a part of the finial in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a view showing parts of the lamp shade mounting in relative positions prior to assembly.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the lamp shade holding member prior to final shaping.

Referring particularly to the accompanying drawings, the invention is concerned with the construction and attachment of a swivel lamp shade mounting upon a harp which may be of conventional construction. As

shown, the harp, generally indicated at 11, includes a base 12 which is secured in a conventional manner to the lamp at the base of the lamp socket 13 ,which carries the usual lamp bulb 14. The harp 11 includes two upwardly-extending side portions 15 which project above the lamp bulb 14 and are joined by an integral horizontally disposed cross-piece 16. The harp 11 is provided to afford a mounting for a lamp shade 17 which also may be of any conventional construction and usually includes radial supporting arms 18 and a central mounting ring 19.

Lamps of the character disclosed are designed to permit easy and quick adjustment angularly (tilting) of the shade, and to this end the means for mounting the shade 17 on the harp 11 is adapted to have selective rotation relative to the harp. Owing to frequent adjustment of the shade 17 relative to the harp 11, it often happens that the shade holding member or the harp cross-piece 16, with which said member is associated, becomes worn to a degree that it is no longer possible to secure the shade firmly in a position of adjustment. The present invention embodies a novel form of a shade mounting which is capable of self-adjustment relative to the harp cross-piece 16, so that irrespective of any wear between the associated parts, the shade may always be secured firmly in an adjusted position.

Upon referring to Figs. 2, 3, and 4, which best illustrate the construction of the shade mounting, said mounting preferably consists of a screw machine part and includes a body 21 having a longitudinal slot 22 extending inwardly from one end and provided on its other end with an outwardly projecting externally threaded stud 23. If desired, an external flange 24 may be provided at the juncture of the body 21 and stud 23. The body 21 is initially placed, during assembly, over the cross-piece 16 in such manner as to dispose said cross-piece in the slot 22. A washer 25 may, if desired, be fitted around the body 21 so that its bottom surface will rest against the adjacent surface of the underlying cross-piece 16, for a purpose to become apparent presently. After the body 21 has been fitted over the cross-piece 16, the side portions of said body, indicated at 26, are pinched or otherwise drawn together, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 4 and in full lines in Fig. 2, so as to define a V- shaped slot having its apex opening upon the free end of the body 21. This retains the body 21 in place on the cross-piece 16 and it should be quite apparent that should pressure be applied downwardly on the washer 25, the cross-piece 16 will be urged downwardly into wedging engagement with the opposed converging faces of the V-shaped slot 22.

Downward movement of the washer 25 is accomplished in the present structure by screwing a finial 27 on the stud 23 after the shade ring 19 has been fitted thereover and seated against the washer 25. When the finial 27 is tightened, the shade ring 19 and the washer 25 move downwardly relative to the body 21 to effect the desired wedging of the cross-piece 16. Should it be necessary at any time to adjust the position angularly of the shade 17, the finial 27 is loosened sufliciently to permit the cross-piece 16 to move out of wedging engagement in the body 21, whereupon the shade and shade mounting may be moved into any desired position and locked therein when the finial is again tightened. The instant structure is such that any wear occurring on the cross-piece or on the opposed faces of the V-shaped v 3 slot 22 is readily compensated for by drawing the stud 23 'farther into'the finial 27; It should be obvious also that, if desired, the washer 25 may be eliminated and the shade ring 19 may seat itself directly upon the crosspiece 16. v, t

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, jand'many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that whilea preferred embodiment of the invention'has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural" details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention, as defined in the appendedclaimav a V Q I What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

'1. In a lamp shade holder including a harp having a cross-piece, a shade holding member comprising a body having a. substantially V-shap'ed slot to receive the crosspiece, a washer on'said body seated upon the cross-piece, a threaded stud on the body, a lampshade ring fitted over"v said stud and seated against the-washer, and a finial threaded on the stud to urge the lamp shade ring and washer downwardlyagainst the cross-piece to wedge the latter in the'slot firmly;

2. Ina lamp shade holder, a harp having a crosspiece, a shade holding member including a part having a body portion, a threadedstud on one end of the body portion, said body portion having a diametrical slot extending inwardly from its other end to receive the cross-piece, the portion of said body on each side of the slot being canted inwardly to define a substantially V-shaped opening, washer means carried by the shade holding member to rest against the cross-piece, and tensioning means on the stud bearing against the washer means to wedge the cross-piece in the V-shaped open- 3. In a lamp shade holder, a harp having a cross-piece, a shade holding member including a body having a substantially V-shaped slot opening onto one end to receive the cross-piece, and means to urge the cross-piece into wedging engagement with the walls of said slot.

4. In a lamp shade holder, a harp having a cross-piece, a shade holding member including a body having a substantially V-shaped slot opening onto one end to receive the cross-piece, a stud on said body, and means engaged with the stud to urge the cross-piece into wedging engagement with the walls of said slot.

5. In a lamp shade holder, a harp having a cross-piece, a shade holding member including a body having a substantially V-shaped slot opening onto one end to receive the cross-piece, a threaded stud on said body, and means engaged with the threaded stud to urge the crosspiece into wedging engagement with the walls of said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 207,224 Turner Aug. 20, 1878 713,832 Bailey Nov. 18, 1902 1,083,853 Overbeck Ian. 6, 1914 1,383,662 Recker July 5, 1921 2,048,988 Atkinson July 28, 1936 2,270,497 Berger Jan. 20, 1942 2,428,105 Woodall Sept, 30, 1947 

